Can I get a medical discharge from the Army reserves for PTSD?

Question

I served for four years on Active Duty which included a deployment to Iraq for a year. About a year after being Honorably Discharged I went into the Active Reserves to finish up my required 8 years. About four months after that I received a 30% service-connected disability rating from the VA for PTSD(Post-Traumatic Stress Dissorder). Does anyone know if I can get a medical discharge or any other type of discharge from the reserves because of this? The only reason I went back in to the active reserves was because I wanted to change my MOS before they tried to send me to Iraq once again. Anyone know what I can do?

To elaborate on some things... I DID receive an honorable discharge from active service and I have a DD214 to prove it. Also, I did not commit fraud because when the retention NCO recruited me I made it clear that I was in the process of receiving a disability for PTSD and he told me it would be fine as long as I WANTED to stay in. The reason why I question this is because most retention NCOs and Recruiters will pull some shady ****. For the idiot who said that I am running away from my job...I went to Iraq for a year and watched good people get blown up, tell me that wouldn't scar you.

Answer 1

what this other guy said is completely untrue.

People have been getting bad discharges for PTSD due to their behavior. Drinking, drugs and other misconduct that is brought about by the PTSD.

If you are out on strictly Med channels, you will not be punished what so ever. i just needed to clear that up.

.............

i know what you are talking about. i was about to ETS and was to recieve disability from the VA for hurting my neck on an airborne op.

i was looking to go to the reserves, and i could still get the disability. thats ok. instead, i ended up getting hurt a second time and was recommended for a MEB.

if you want to just get out, request a MEB. worst that can happen is they tell you that you are fit for duty.

Answer 2

You can, with a medical finding from a Medical Review Board get a discharge on the basis of PTSD I can't find teh appropriate reg, or I'd be able to tell you what 5age of disability this requires.

You need to be aware, though that the discarge will show "personality disorder" as the cause and it may be "less than honorable." These findings will make getting VA benefits difficult and will require you to spend a lot of time and effort going to board hearings to upgrade your character of service or to reverse the "personality disorder" finding.

You can request a 1 year furlough from the Reserves. It's a furlough, not IRR, it still counts toward your service time, and that may grant you the time away to get your head together, especially if you use the time wisely and use teh counselling services the Army has for you while not having to worry about drill. It'll also give you breathing space before jumping into the cauldron I've described already.

You can use the counselling while still drilling, though, if you have real PTSD, I can understand not wanting to.

No matter what you do, I urge you to use the counselling services. The number of r Military OneSource is below and they can hook you up with the people you need to see and talk to.

UPDATE: I did NOT say that anyone would be punished. If that's what you got, I must have been unclear.

Answer 3

Something for your friend to remember - not even addressing his reenlistment bonus - if he gets a medical separation for PTSD then EVERYTHING he receives as part of his separation pay has to be repaid in full to the government before he can collect a penny of Disability from the VA. I had to pay back about $25,000 of separation pay completely unrelated to my disability before I started getting Disability deposits. It's a neat little "Oh, by the way..." the government has for us.

Answer 4

Let me see if I have this story straight. You received a VA disability rating while still in the armed forces. If I have that right, you might be in a peck of trouble since it could be seen as committing fraud against the government. Admittedly you did four years active duty. But (correct me if I'm wrong) you were released from active duty. You were not discharged.